A Push in the Right Direction
by Madisonne
Summary: Zechs and Treize run into each other on a snowy Valentine's Day. All some people need is a push in the right direction. Yaoi.


A Push in the Right Direction

By: Madisonne

Part: 1/1

Disclaimer: For some reason, the people at Bandai keep on forgetting to return my calls... So, no, I don't own them yet. Operative word: YET! MWA HA HA HA HA!!! Ahem... Don't steal, or else I'll sic my demon-chibis on you. Stop laughing! They can strip a cow of its meat in one minute! Or is that piranhas? Hmmm... 

Warnings: Angst, sap

Notes: Wrote this around V-day. :-)

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"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_Please_?!!"

"_No_."

She pouted, Zechs' ice-blue eyes glaring at her not phasing her a bit. 'Sometimes he can be such an unbearable _ass_...' "Why not?!!"

"Because I... I don't _want_ to." He picked at a thread on the bedspread.

"Would it kill you to try and be somewhat social?"

"Probably yes." He deadpanned. "I like the red one better than that blue, but the black is _still_ my favourite."

She sighed and put the blue shirt back into her closet. "What's so bad about a double date?"

"Uhm, well, A, I don't _want_ to, B, I'm not interested in what... Your 'friend' has to offer, C, you should know by now that I am a lazy bum."

"Well, what about the green?" Noin held the shirt in front of her for inspection.

He frowned and shook his head. "I _definitely_ like the black shirt and skirt best. Especially with that red necklace."

"Okay, fine. I'll trust your judgement." She smiled at him. "What _would_ I do without my personal coordinator?"

"Be horribly dressed, most likely." He joked with a smile.

She gave him a mock-dirty look and closed the door to her closet. "I just don't see _why_ you don't like Valentine's day..."

He fell onto his back with a sigh. "_I_ just don't understand why you're so obsessed with the holiday."

"Can't you feel the magic?"

He turned his head and gave her an impossibly blank stare.

"Obviously not." She shook her head. "Fine, alright, just stay at home and _be_ bored. Just don't drink yourself into a bloody stupor." 

"Yes, _mom_." He rolled his eyes. "Have fun. Be good."

"Aren't I always?" 

"Some days." He gave her a smile and left her quarters for his own.

He spent the next few hours staring out of the window, watching the snow billow up, draining the contents of a bottle of wine.

No matter what Noin said, he was _not_ depressed. He just was not interested in going out. Somehow hanging out with 'the girls' and Noin was not as attractive as it used to be; the flirtation had lost its lustre. 

Growing bored, he grabbed his jacket and made his way outside to wade through a foot of soft snow. His were the only prints in the still-gathering drifts, and his slow inhalation and exhalation were the only sounds echoing through the gardens of the OZ facility.

After fifteen minutes, he found a bench where he plopped down, taking off his mask almost unthinkingly, letting it drop solidly to the snow.

He was chilled, but the snow melting onto his shoulders seemed not to bother him.

* * * * * * * 

As the snow whirled down around him, he continued his solitary trudge across the gardens, having nothing better to do on the blustery Valentine's day. 

The snow almost reached his knees in some places where the path dropped off, leaving him to consider himself quite lucky that he was wearing the standard-issue boots of the army. 

He frowned as he spotted a solitary form on one of the park benches. He quickly approached the poorly dressed soldier. "Zechs, what are you doing out here?"

The blonde's head popped up and he smiled vaguely. "Hey. I was bored..."

"On Valentine's day?" Treize gave him an incredulous glance. 

He shrugged. "Yeah."

"Well, what about you?

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you out here?" Zechs asked as Treize moved to sit next to him.

"Same reason; I was bored."

"No date?"

He laughed. "Not hardly. That's not to say Lady didn't try to hook me up with a blind date."

"Boy, does _that_ sound familiar." Zechs sighed.

Treize glanced at Zechs suspiciously. "Are you drunk?"

He laughed. "Yes. A bit."

"It's bad for your health, you know."

"And _you're_ one to talk!" He snorted sarcastically. "It's pretty out here."

"Mmm, yeah."

"I've never understood this holiday. My... My mom and dad never celebrated it." He said, looking down at his hands.

"Hey," He covered the cold white hands with his own. "I thought you were getting over all that."

"I am, I just..."

"Miss them. I know." Treize smiled lightly. "Mom loves you more than me, if that makes you feel any better."

"No she doesn't."

"As I recall, she _did_ buy_ you_ that home entertainment system."

"Ah, yes. I obviously overwhelmed her with my natural grace and charm."

"Hmmm, if you say so." He glanced down at the mask. "Is it really wise to sit out here in the open without..."

He shrugged. "No, it's not like anyone will actually come outside. They're all off partying."

"True..." Treize conceded.

They spent a moment in companionable silence as the snow drifted lazily down to the earth.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if the war ended tomorrow?"

Zechs pondered his response, wording it carefully. "For you - it would depend on which side won. For me - well, I suppose it would be the same either way." He sighed. "I've nowhere to go."

"Mom would adopt you in a heartbeat. She's totally convinced that you're the best thing since sliced white."

He snorted. "Well, I don't know if I'd want to live with _you_..."

"Aw, you know that's not true."

Zechs shrugged enigmatically. "Gods, it's cold out here."

"Then why didn't you wear a jacket, hmmm?" He asked, mock-condescendingly, all the while taking off his own cloak and wrapping it around the both of them.

"Thank you." He smiled gratefully, pulling the cloth firmly up around his ears. 

"You need someone to take care of you."

Zechs snorted and lifted an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Well, someone to make sure you wear a coat, at least." He explained, poking the younger pilot in the ribs.

"Hey, I plead temporary insanity."

"Temporary, my ass..." He muttered.

"Shhh..." Zechs muttered back. "No one must know!"

"Ah, I see..."

"I would be almost zero-percent fun if I were not crazy."

"Something to that effect, I'm sure." Treize affirmed, an amused smile on his face.

"What _would_ I do without your witty banter?"

"Probably be rather bored."

"Mmm, I suppose." He snuggled down deeper into the fabric. "This is sad, but this has been one of my better Valentine's days." 

"Same here." Treize smiled openly.

"Better than that year at the ocean?"

"Oh gods, don't remind me. I was grounded for a _week_ after that!"

"You're one to talk - I spent the majority of that week in the shower, trying to get all of the sand out of my hair!"

"Whatever prompted you to start a sand fight, anyways?"

Zechs sputtered indignantly. "I did _not_!"

"You most certainly did too!"

"Like hell! I was the good kid, remember?"

"Bullshit, you were an unholy terror! In fact, you still are." He smirked smugly.

"Ugh!" Zechs groaned. He then came up with a devious plot. Better, perhaps that even Operation Sandstorm... Slowly and sneakily, he reached behind him and grabbed a gob of melting snow. In one quick, smooth motion, he had the precipitation down the back of the elders' uniform. In that same second, his training kicked in and he ran. 

I t took Treize a moment to fully realize what had happened, but when he did, he was off like a shot, hell-bent on burying the blonde under as many wet of snow as possible. "You rotten creature! Ack!" He stopped a moment, shaking a glob of snow out of his shirt. "You're dead, brat!" 

Even though Zechs had gotten a head start, Treize's strides were longer and he caught up with the blonde after about a minute of running. Falling sideways, Treize bowled Zechs into a snowdrift, soaking the younger man in the ice.

"Ack! You can't do that; that's cheating!"

"Oh, really? And what, exactly, do you propose to do about it?" He said as he plopped down on the blondes' legs, using the same motion to mound on the first layer of snow. 

"Hey! Your mother would be very angry if she found out you buried me alive in a snowdrift in the middle of February!" He managed to get out through his laughter. 

"Well, it would be rather difficult to bury you alive in a snowdrift in the middle of _June_, now wouldn't it?"

"Bastard."

"Uh oh, potty mouth." He calmly placed a hand over the blonde's mouth, all the while piling more snow on him. Soon, he was able to get off the blonde's legs, as the weight of the snow pinned him down. 

Zechs knew there was only one way to get out of the predicament in which he was entrenched. 

After about a half of a minute, Treize realised that Zechs was no longer moving or talking. Worried, he knelt down next to him and patted the side of his cheek gently. "Zechs? Miri? Wake up." He started to panic, wildly pushing of the layers of snow, terrified that he had killed his best friend. "Miri, wake up! Shit! Miri!!!" He was answered by a fist of snow in his face and a familiar chuckle. "Zechs!"

The blonde scooted away to safety, laughing all the while. 

"You _bastard_; that was dirty and you know it!"

"Yeah, but it worked, did it not?" He smiled faux-innocently.

"Don't _do_ that to a person..." He wiped the last of the snow from his face. "Are you okay?"

"Hmmm, a little wet, but less sand than usual. Yeah, I'm okay." He shook some snow out of his hair. 

"You're a brat, you know that? Of course, that _is_ what we love about you."

"Oh, really?" Zechs smiled running his hands through his hair to rid it of ice crystals.

"Well, that is... Uhm..." He fidgeted unconsciously.

"Yes?" He drawled, looking quite the part of an amused cat who had caught the mouse.

He paused, thinking deeply. He had known for quite some time that his friendship with the blonde had been spiralling into something more lately, but had not known how to respond to the knowledge. "You've been a very close friend for a long time, but now... I'd like to try being something more." He almost muttered the last bit.

Zechs gave him an indecipherable stare and in its depths, the other began to have doubts. Then, the blonde broke into a merry chuckle. "You're sweet." He commented, while getting up from the snow. His out-stretched hand was accepted and Treize dusted a few flakes of snow off of his uniform.

When they started moving towards the barracks, Treize noticed that the blonde still had his hand in a close grasp and smiled.

Zechs almost turned to retrieve his mask, but then thought better of it. He smiled softly and continued walking

* * * * * * * 

"Wait, what are they doing now?" She hissed, trying to see over Lady Une's shoulder.

"They're walking back... Oh! They're holding hands!"

"Yes!" She squeaked in delight. "Our plan worked!" 

Lady Une uncharacteristically gave her fellow soldier a high-five. "They are _so_ cute together!"

Noin agreed with a nod. "And do think, all they needed was a push in the right direction."

"Wait, wait! They're coming this way!"

"Ack! We have to hide!"

"Quick! Under the bench!" Lady Une dove for cover along with her fellow peeping tom.

"Lady Une, Lieutenant Noin." Treize acknowledged their presence as he and Zechs passed.

"Sir." She sheepishly acknowledged her presence from under the bench.

Zechs laughed as soon as he knew that the two would not hear them. "How much do you want to bet they planned this whole thing?"

"What, them? _Plan_ something?!!" He exclaimed, mock-startled. "I know two young soldiers who will be doing double latrine duty next week."

Zechs just shook his head, smiled and kept walking, knowing neither woman would be ordered to do any such thing. 

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End file.
